1

CASPA Manual

Policies and Procedures

2019-2020 Application Cycle

PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTEDUCATION ASSOCIATION

2

2019-2020 CASPA Policies and Procedures Manual

The purpose of this manual is to provide a step-by-step description of the central application service for physician assistants (CASPA). These policies and procedures are official as developed by the Recruitment and Admissions Council, the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA), and Liaison International. They are fully effective until changed with PAEA and Liaison International approval.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. ABOUT CASPA, PAEA AND LIAISON INTERNATIONAL 5

CASPA 5 PAEA 5 Liaison International 5-6

2. COMMUNICATIONS 6

Program Support 6 Applicant Support 6 Admissions Email List 6

3. BENEFITS OF CASPA PARTICIPATION 6

Benefits to Applicants 6-7 Benefits to CASPA Participating Programs 7-8 Benefits to PAEA and PA Profession 8 Benefits to Pre-Health Profession Advisors 8

4. PARTICIPATING IN CASPA 8

Developing Programs 9 2019-2020 CASPA Participating Programs 9-12 Voluntary Withdrawal 12 Involuntary Withdrawal 12

5. CODE OF COOPERATION AND CONDUCT POLICIES 13

Applicant Responsibilities 13-14 CASPA Responsibilities 14 CASPA Program Responsibilities 14-15 Applicant Professional Code of Conduct 15-16 Violation of Code of Conduct Policy 16 Reporting Code of Conduct Violations to CASPA 17 Violation Decisions and Sanctions 17 The Appeal Process 17 Appeal Review Process 17 Secondary Appeal Process 17

6. RELEASE, PRIVACY AND DATA POLICIES 18

Release to Programs 18 Release to Pre-Health Professions Advisors 18

3

CASPA Professional Code of Conduct 18 Privacy Policy 18 Data Collection, Processing, and Dissemination 19 Data Reporting 19

7. THE APPLICANT PORTAL: CASPA 3.0 19

The Applicant Portal 19 8. THE APPLICATION CYCLE AND DEADLINES 20

Application Cycle 20 Application Deadlines 20 Deadline Requirements 20 Considerations for Setting Deadlines 20-21 Considerations for Setting Deadline Requirements 21 Application Open Date 21 Deadline Extensions 21 Deadline Extensions for Individual Applicants 21 Eligibility 21

9. THE APPLICATION PROCESS 22

Re-applicants 22 Items Carried Over 22 Items Not Carried Over 22 Application Accounts 22 Application Dashboard 23 Application Sections 23 Personal Information Section 23-25 Academic History Section 25-29 Supporting Information Section 30-31 Program Materials Section 31-34

10. BACKGROUND CHECKS 34

11. FEES 34-35

Fee Waivers 35

12. THE VERIFICATION PROCESS 36

Verification 36 No Transcript Available 37 Course-by-Course Transcript Verification 37 Reporting to Applicants and Programs 37 CASPA Verified Grade 37 CASPA Verified Credits 37 Converted Grade 37-38 Discrepancies 38 Converting Quarters to Semesters 38 Automatic Grade Conversion 38

4

Converting Numeric Grades 38-39 Transcript Verification 39 Degree Verification 39 Grade Point Averages (GPAs) 39-40 Cumulative Undergraduate 40 Overall GPA 40 Non-Science GPA 40 Science GPA 40 BCP GPA 40 GPA Calculations 40 GPA System Rules 40-41 Repeated Coursework 41

13. WebAdMIT Admissions Portal 41

Application Status Definitions 41-42 Details Available for Verified Applicants 43 Data Exports 43

14. REPORTS AND SURVEYS 43

CASPA Renewal Survey 43 Program Satisfaction Survey 43-44 Matriculant Data Reporting 44 End of Cycle Reports 44 Application Changes and Updates 44 Admissions Decisions 45 Supplemental Application 45

5

1. ABOUT CASPA, PAEA AND LIAISON INTERNATIONAL CASPA The central application service provides a simplified process to apply to physician assistant (PA) programs, allowing applicants to complete one application and submit one set of documents to the service provided by Liaison International. CASPA verifies the entered coursework for accuracy against official transcripts and calculates grade point averages (GPA) as defined by CASPA. This information is made available to programs via the WebAdMIT admissions portal. CASPA does not regulate any program’s admissions requirements nor do they determine an applicant’s eligibility to apply to any program. CASPA, PAEA, and participating programs assume no responsibility for delays in processing application materials caused by the applicant’s failure to follow instructions or circumstances beyond PAEA’s, CASPA’s, or the participating programs' control. It is the applicant's responsibility to review their application portal on a regular basis and report any discrepancies to CASPA Customer Service immediately. Information requested on the application is for gathering and reporting applicant data, or to confirm information used to process the application. PAEA and CASPA affirm the principle of equal opportunity for individuals who are qualified for education, training, and practice in the health professions without regard to race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. veteran. In pursuit of this principle, PAEA and CASPA request member programs continue to monitor and update their admission policies and practices for accordance with their educational and training institutions fair practice policies. PAEA Based in Washington, DC, the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) is the only national organization in the U.S. representing PA educational programs. PAEA's mission is leadership, innovation, and excellence in PA education. Liaison International The mission of Liaison International is to provide state-of-the-art information technology products and services to educational associations, accrediting agencies, and institutions of higher education; to create an environment for sharing common technologies and best practices; and to contribute to the advancement of health professions education through comprehensive, innovative and collaborative Information Technology (IT) projects. Liaison International offers unmatched insight into emerging technologies, as well as a keen understanding of how the latest innovations can be used to help clients better

6

fulfill their core mission. To support the CASPA service, Liaison employs customer representatives, data entry professionals, verification experts, and provides the management expertise to find, train, and motivate this pool of employees. Liaison offers a comprehensive service to several CAS applications and provides an array of services including application tracking, document retention, verification services, applicant data warehousing, and customer service.

2. COMMUNICATIONS Program Support You can access the WebAdMIT admissions management portal at any time, from anywhere with your login credentials. WebAdMIT has enhanced its ‘Help Center’ training and support material. You can access the ‘Help Center’ through your WebAdMIT dashboard under the ‘Usage Help’ tab. There are also several live, interactive training sessions you can access here and the support team is available to programs by email or by phone Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm ET at webadmitsupport@liaisonedu.com or 857.304.2020. Applicant Support You can access the CASPA applicant portal at any time, from anywhere. It is recommended that you create a test account that you can access any time you have questions about the application. CASPA customer support is available to applicants by email or by phone Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm ET at caspainfo@caspaonline.org or 617.612.2080. Admissions Email List The admissions email list provides a forum to voice concerns, ask questions, or start a dialogue among admissions personnel. Join one or several PAEA email lists.

3. BENEFITS OF CASPA PARTICIPATION The CASPA application provides benefits to applicants, participating programs, PAEA, and health professions advisors. Applicant Benefits CASPA:

• Provides a state of the art application platform with enhanced design and user experience.

• Participating programs represent 95% of currently accredited PA programs. • Provides an efficient process to apply to multiple PA programs. • Supplies applicants with a comprehensive applicant help center to help

navigate the application. • Eliminates the need for duplicate application data and documents when

applying to multiple programs.

7

• Allows access to the application from any device. • Provides a real-time applicant portal to check application status. • Gives applicants an electronic tool to request evaluations from their chosen

evaluators. • Decreases unintended applicant errors and omissions with built-in validation

rules. • Allows access to CASPA-calculated GPAs and verified course data. • Provides one point of contact for customer support needs. • Facilitates the payment process by allowing online credit card payments.

Participating Program Benefits CASPA:

• Participation is a benefit of PAEA voting membership. • Participation is available to developing PA programs with a one-time

participation fee. • Provides a rich database of applicant and matriculant data via the WebAdMIT

admissions portal. • Programs can access end of year reports with individual program applicant

and matriculant data. • Reduces clerical work for participating programs. • Provides real-time, online access to application data via WebAdMIT once data

is submitted. • Participation encourages a national and more diverse applicant pool. • Participation encourages a more complete applicant and matriculant data set. • Makes it easier to identify and recruit qualified applicants. • Application contains the complete demographic and academic record for

applicants. • Provides multiple GPA calculations from verified coursework. • Provides quality assurance by reducing errors through internal check systems

and validations. • Investigates applicants suspected of code of conduct violations. • Promotes the PA profession to health advisors who are accustomed to the

central application service. • Provides the ability to export CASPA data from client software into a local

computer database (i.e. PeopleSoft). 1. Exports to an external database requires local programming to create a

‘bridge’ from the WebAdMIT admissions portal into the local database, or data may be downloaded directly from WebAdMIT raw (DBF) data into the local database.

• Provides full access to the WebAdMIT admissions portal from anywhere, at any time.

8

• Provides dedicated support to admissions staff and applicants, as well as training sessions for new programs, and annually updated training for all participating programs.

PAEA and the Profession Benefits CASPA:

• Provides a richer understanding of the applicant pool and individuals seeking education as PAs.

• Enhances the ability to analyze underrepresented minority applicants with comparative data.

• Data provides the ability to compare PA program applicant trends to other health professions.

• Collects a wealth of demographic data for individual applicants for use in national recruitment efforts.

• Disseminates information about careers in the PA profession and PA programs to students and applicants.

• Data can be used to support proposals for increases in federal funding, such as:

1. HRSA Titles IV and VIII of the Public Health Service Act 2. Health Career Opportunity Programs (HCOP) 3. Centers of Excellence (COE) 4. Financial aid loans and grants 5. Research grants

Benefits to Pre-Health Profession Advisors CASPA:

• Provides access to a universal advisor portal with applicant data and statuses. • Helps advisors guide applicants through the admissions process. • Links to the PAEA website, PA Focus, and the PA program directory to assist

advisors in educating prospective students on the profession.

4. PARTICIPATING IN CASPA CASPA participation is open to all PAEA member programs with an accreditation status (continuing, provisional, probation). Developing, or applicant PA programs that expect provisional accreditation and will admit their first class within one year of the launch of a CASPA cycle (every April) may also be eligible to participate.

9

For the 2019-2020 Application Cycle ARC Decision Meeting Date Scheduled

CASPA Participation Fee

March 2019 $0 June 2019 $4,000 September 2019 $5,500

CASPA participation is included as a PAEA voting member benefit. Developing PA programs expecting provisional accreditation in March or September, must join PAEA as an institutional colleague and pay a one-time non-refundable CASPA participation fee of $5,500, or, for programs expecting accreditation in June, a prorated participation fee of $4,000. All CASPA participation questions can be directed to caspa@PAEAonline.org. Developing programs:

• Must be within one year of their expected provisional accreditation and must be admitting their first class in the following year (i.e. for the 2019-2020 cycle, programs must admit a class in 2020 OR January 2021).

• Are required to pay one-time, non-refundable fee of $4,000 or $5,500 to participate in CASPA.

• Are required to join PAEA as an institutional colleague prior to participating in CASPA.

• Will inform PAEA within 24 hours of their status if provisional accreditation is not granted, or their accreditation application is withdrawn from ARC-PA. Developing programs should also inform their applicants of their accreditation status within 10 business days.

• Who are not granted provisional accreditation, or withdraw their accreditation application, will have access to their WebAdMIT admissions portal for 10 business days following notification.

• Will not receive a refund of the CASPA participation fee, nor the fee for PAEA institutional membership, regardless of their accreditation status. The program can choose to remain an institutional member of PAEA at the start of the new fiscal year (July 1).

• Understand that PAEA and CASPA will not provide refunds to applicants who apply to a developing program under any circumstance, regardless of the program’s accreditation status. It is recommended that developing programs draft a refund policy in the case provisional accreditation is not granted.

10

• In the case provisional accreditation is denied, the program will not be able to participate in a future CASPA cycle until provisional accreditation status is granted.

Voluntary Withdrawal Programs that choose to voluntarily withdraw from CASPA during the cycle must notify caspa@PAEAonline.org with the reason for withdrawal. The program’s deadline will expire immediately, and programs are strongly encouraged to email their applicants immediately. The program will have 14 business days to download and export all data in WebAdMIT. After that time, the program will not be able to access the admissions portal until they are reinstated in CASPA. The program is responsible for honoring all applications submitted through CASPA up until the official date of withdrawal and handling all requests for refunds. CASPA will not issue refunds for any application. PA programs are encouraged to define clear application refund policies in such circumstances and post them on their website. CASPA understands circumstances may make it necessary to withdraw but requests all programs consider completing the current application cycle. CASPA will not answer any questions regarding program status and all inquiries will be forwarded directly to the program’s primary contact. Involuntary Withdrawal In the event a CASPA program loses or withdraws its ARC-PA accreditation, the program’s deadline will expire immediately, and programs are strongly encouraged to email their applicants immediately regarding their status. The program will have 14 business days to download and export all data in WebAdMIT. After that time, the program will not be able to access the admissions portal. CASPA will not issue refunds to applicants who applied to a PA program that withdraws or loses their accreditation during the admission cycle. The applicant may request a refund directly from the withdrawn program. PA programs are encouraged to define clear application refund policies in such circumstances and post them on their website. Programs will not be allowed to regain CASPA membership until their accreditation has been restored by ARC-PA and they complete the CASPA Renewal survey.

5. CODE OF COOPERATION AND CONDUCT POLICIES Applicant Responsibilities Applicants to the PA profession are expected and required to take full responsibility for their application throughout the admissions process and abide by the Professional Code of Conduct. Please review the responsibilities and Professional Code of Conduct below. CASPA Applicants will:

• Be responsible for knowing and adhering to application procedures.

11

• Be responsible for knowing and adhering to the admissions and deadline requirements of each PA program.

• Complete and submit the CASPA application and sign the CASPA release statements.

• Submit all supporting documentation to CASPA at least four weeks prior to the earliest deadline of the program(s) you are applying to.

• Use the transcript request form available within the ‘Academic History’ section to submit transcripts to CASPA.

• Agree to pay the correct CASPA application fees when submitting the application.

• Provide independent, honest, accurate, and complete information. Essays should be written in their own words.

• Report any changes in contact information on their application throughout the CASPA cycle.

• Monitor their application’s status and the submission and receipt of all application materials to CASPA.

• Follow up on incomplete application statuses and/or missing documents with CASPA staff and facilitate the submission or resubmission of those materials to CASPA. If evaluations are missing, the applicant should contact the individual evaluator to confirm the request was received and encourage a timely submission. CASPA is not responsible for documents lost in the mail or sent to PAEA. These items must be resubmitted to CASPA in a timely manner.

• Respond immediately to all notices and questions received from CASPA staff and PA programs. Applicants are responsible for checking their CASPA application inbox available on the applicant portal, as well as their personal email for these important notices and questions.

• Print a hard copy or save an electronic version of the completed CASPA application to save for their files. Applications cannot be accessed once a cycle closes.

• Communicate and initiate all contact in a professional manner when interacting with CASPA staff, Liaison International staff, and program admissions staff. CASPA will not communicate with parents, spouses, friends, or other individuals about an application.

• Accept or decline all interview invitations and offers of acceptance in a timely and considerate manner.

• Log off the CASPA web application after the completion of each entry or review session to protect against unauthorized access of application information.

CASPA Responsibilities CASPA will facilitate through each of its participating programs a professional and equitable application process. Established protocols will provide applicants with a fair and complete initial review process of all application materials and support each

12

program’s autonomy in further evaluating, selecting, and matriculating qualified students. CASPA will:

• Provide fair and equitable treatment throughout the application process. • Collect and collate all application materials submitted by applicants, and verify

all academic transcripts and review evaluations for completeness and authenticity. A completed application means an application has been submitted, fees, all transcripts, and two of the three evaluations received by CASPA.

• Provide quality customer service. CASPA’s professional staff will maintain ongoing and responsive communications with programs and applicants.

• Ensure customer confidentiality and data integrity by maintaining a reliable and secure Internet service and quality assurance.

• Report year-end data to each participating program and provide an annual report of aggregate applicant data to the PAEA.

• Support the applicant, WebAdMIT admissions portal, and advisor portal via the web.

CASPA Program Responsibilities In educating caring, compassionate, and knowledgeable health care providers, PA programs should conduct themselves and their admissions processes in a professional manner that promotes the ideals of the profession and the mission of each program. Programs will partner with CASPA in maintaining an admissions process that is fair, inclusive, and equitable. CASPA Programs will:

• Establish and publish accurate admission requirements and deadlines. Each program will make information easily accessible to potential applicants by maintaining a program website, which can be linked to CASPA. Programs will adhere to their own published admissions policies and procedures throughout the cycle.

• Adopt one of the following ten application deadlines: 1. June 15, July 15, August 1, September 1, October 1, November 1,

December 1, January 15, March 1and April 1. • Be allowed to designate a deadline date and deadline definition annually and

are expected to adhere to the identified deadline throughout the application cycle.

• Optimize efficiencies and maintain good communication. Each PA program should designate an individual to serve as the primary point of contact to CASPA, who will receive, and should respond to all CASPA-related requests.

13

• Maintain ongoing communications with applicants. Programs should encourage applicants to monitor their application status and complete their applications promptly.

• Maintain the confidentiality of applicant information and materials during all aspects of the application and interview process.

• Conduct a fair, reasonable, and timely admissions process. Programs should develop policies and procedures to update applicants.

• Make all admissions decisions based on complete and verified application information provided through CASPA.

• Notify applicants of acceptance in a timely manner and allow applicants at least two weeks to reply for acceptance.

• Consider setting a seat deposit at a reasonable amount so as not to financially burden the applicant, if requiring a deposit from selected applicants to hold a seat.

• Notify CASPA of all matriculated students via the WebAdMIT admissions portal by the deadline established by PAEA annually as requested by PAEA.

• Abide by the Program Withdrawal and Loss of Accreditation and Program Professional Code of Conduct policies outlined in this manual.

Applicant Professional Code of Conduct In accordance with the ideals and principles of the PA profession, all applicants are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner that demonstrates responsibility, integrity, honesty, respect, and good judgment. The code of conduct provides a defined set of guidelines for applicant responsibilities, expected standards of performance, and behavior. As an applicant to the physician assistant profession, I pledge to: Act with honesty and integrity throughout the admissions process and in all interactions. Every applicant must represent themselves accurately, honestly, and completely to CASPA and PA programs. Applicants must not falsify information (including but not limited to transcripts, evaluations, plagiarizing personal statements, or misrepresenting academic and professional achievements). Applicants must identify themselves accurately to all CASPA and PA program staff and should not inquire about an application claiming to be someone else. Finally, applicants must reveal information about any previous legal offenses or academic dismissals. Communicate in a professional manner throughout the admissions process and in all interactions. Every applicant should use the highest professional courtesy when interacting with CASPA and PA program staff. It is unacceptable for an applicant to disparage the competence, knowledge, qualifications, or services of faculty and staff involved in the

14

admissions process; it is inappropriate to imply in word, gesture, or deed, that an application has been mishandled, or an applicant has been mistreated without tangible evidence. Offensive, foul or threatening language, comments, emails, voicemails, or any other form of communication will not be tolerated. CASPA and PA program staff reserve the right to terminate any conversation should they feel threatened. Be responsible and accountable for my actions and personally manage and respond to all matters related to my application. Applicants must demonstrate responsibility and take ownership of their application and the process. Applicants are expected to review the requirements and meet deadline of CASPA and each PA program; provide information as requested and follow up on the admissions process for each program to which they apply. Applicants are also responsible for promptly correcting any errors or omissions identified in their application, and for responding to all notifications in a timely manner. If an applicant has a question about the admissions process after exhausting all available resources, they should contact CASPA or the appropriate PA program directly. CASPA and program staff will not discuss an application with an applicant’s parent, spouse, relative, friend, or employer, regardless of who submits the payment. The CASPA fee payment does not relieve applicants of the obligation to properly submit all requested data and application materials by the posted deadlines. Violation of Code of Conduct Policy Misconduct, as defined in the professional code of conduct, and all forms of dishonesty, will not be tolerated during the application process. Sanctions imposed include, but are not limited to:

1. Revocation of application 2. Sharing documented conduct violations with the CASPA participating

program(s) to which the applicant has applied 3. Sharing documented conduct violations with all CASPA participating programs 4. Sharing documented conduct violations with other PA admissions committees

whose programs are not members of CASPA 5. Sharing documented conduct violations with other health professions 6. Loss of privilege of applying to or entering the physician assistant profession

Reporting Code of Conduct Violations to CASPA To report code of conduct violations, programs should email a written report with evidence supporting a violation to the Professional Code of Conduct listed above, to caspa@PAEAonline.org or to Jessica Scholz at Liaison. If evidence is not included or available, a report will not be considered or reviewed. Violation Decisions and Sanctions

15

The Liaison International account manager and a CASPA representative will conduct an initial review on all violation reports. If a violation is found, it will be reviewed to determine applicable sanctions. The PAEA CASPA representative will notify the applicant via email of all decisions. The Appeal Process The applicant will have 10 business days from the initial date of notification to appeal the decision by sending an appeal letter with documentation (if applicable) to the PAEA CASPA Administrative Associate. Appeal Review Process A panel comprised of the two PAEA reviewers and one Liaison reviewer will review the appeal. Once the panel reviews the appeal, one of the following decisions will be made:

1. Uphold the original sanctions 2. Revise the sanctions 3. Repeal some or all sanctions

Upon reaching the decision, a CASPA representative will notify the applicant via email of the decision. Secondary Appeal Process In the event the applicant would like to pursue a secondary appeal, the appeal and any additional supporting documentation must be submitted within 10 business days of the notification. The original appeal will not be considered. A team of two PAEA Executive Team members and one Liaison VP will review the secondary appeal. This panel may either uphold or reverse the original decision and sanctions imposed. The decision of the secondary review panel will be final and the CASPA operations manager will notify the applicant via email of the decision. Any reversal of the violation will be communicated to all parties that may have been previously notified.

6. RELEASE, PRIVACY, AND DATA POLICIES CASPA will only discuss an application with the applicant and the applicant’s designated PA programs. Staff will not discuss an application with a parent, spouse, relative, friend, or employer. Release Statement To complete the CASPA application process, applicants are requested to electronically sign and certify the following statement: ‘by accepting these terms, I certify, as required in the application, that I have read, understand, and agree to all policies found within the Instructions & FAQ and the CASPA Admissions Code of Cooperation, including the provisions that place responsibility for monitoring and ensuring the progress of my application process with me. I certify that all the information and statements I have provided as part of this application process, including those statements contained in the application and as part of the evaluation verification process are current,

16

accurate, and complete to the best of my knowledge. I understand that withholding information requested as part of the application process or submitting false or misleading information may be grounds for denial of admissions by any participating program or expulsion from said program after admission.’

Advisor Release CASPA asks its applicants to authorize the following release of information to the appropriate pre-health professions advisors. The authorization reads ‘by answering yes, you authorize CASPA to release selected information regarding your CASPA application and admission status to the health professions advisor and the health professions advisory committee of the post-secondary institution(s) that you have attended. By releasing your information, your advisor is better able to assist you in all admissions process, as well as better guide other students in the future. You cannot make changes to this item after you submit your application to CASPA. Check to authorize to release your application’s academic information and admission status to designated health professions advisors at the schools you have previously attended. Your personal and financial information will remain confidential at all times; and your personal statement or disciplinary actions listed on your application will not be viewable. Advisors may use this information to help benchmark acceptance rates from their programs and improve their interactions with future applicants.’ CASPA Professional Code of Conduct CASPA asks its applicants to agree to the professional code of conduct: ‘by clicking, ‘I Accept’, I certify that I have read, understand, and agree to abide by the CASPA Professional Code of Conduct. I understand that misconduct, as defined by this code, may subject me to sanctions by the Physician Assistant Education Association. Furthermore, I understand that these sanctions may include, but are not limited to, losing the privilege of applying to or entering the physician assistant profession.’ Privacy Policy All data gathered at the close of each cycle become the property of PAEA. Data gathered by CASPA are classified as restricted. Restricted data are reported only in aggregate form so as not to divulge student-specific demographic information. Student data are reported in aggregate only. To maintain confidentiality, it is PAEA’s policy to not report any average unless more than four values are used to calculate that average. Data Collection, Processing, and Dissemination CASPA has developed policies to prevent the exposure of truly confidential personal data without the permission of the individual involved, to limit the distribution of sensitive data to those situations that require it, and to permit distribution of non-sensitive directory information wherever a useful purpose can be served. Except for directory information and communications with the programs as a part of the application and record-keeping process, information about individual students is not shared with anyone in a way that would permit individual identification. Applicant data transmitted to the PA Data Consortium for research purposes may contain identifying information to allow initial matching of records, but all records will be de-identified as soon as possible and only aggregated data will be reported. Any personally identifiable data submitted by an applicant will be made available to that applicant

17

upon written request. Information about applicants and students is disclosed to the colleges and programs to which a student applies and/or matriculates. Except for monitoring reports related to matriculants, information submitted to CASPA by a PA program or school is available only to that institution. Data Reporting The PA program understands that aggregate applicant data is the only data that may be reported externally by CASPA. For research purposes, PAEA may share applicant data with the Physician Assistant Data Consortium [which consists of PAEA, the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), and the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA), subject to confidentiality agreements from the consortium members and to the requirement that only aggregated data may be reported externally. Member programs are expected to continue to monitor their admissions policies and practices in accordance with their educational and training institutions fair practice policies.

7. THE APPLICANT PORTAL: CAS 3.0 The Applicant Portal The Applicant Portal can be accessed at any time throughout the cycle.

8. THE APPLICATION CYCLE AND DEADLINES Application Cycle A CASPA cycle runs from April every year until the following April. The 2019-2020 CASPA application cycle opens on April 25, 2019 and closes on April 1, 2020. Applicants who apply during this timeline will be considered for 2020 OR January 2021 entering class of PA students, unless in the case of deferrals which are determined by each program. Application Deadlines CASPA offers ten deadline options for programs to choose from. Each program selects the deadline that best aligns with their individual admissions timelines and class start dates. The ten deadline options are listed below and can also be found in the PAEA Program Directory.

• June 15, July 15, August 1, September 1, October 1, November 1, December 1, January 15, March 1, and April 1.

Deadline Requirements

18

In addition to an application deadline, there are three deadline requirement options to choose from. The programs select the deadline requirement that best aligns with their admissions process. The three options are listed below and can also be found in the PAEA Program Directory.

• Submit: the application must be submitted by the posted deadline. • Complete: the application must be submitted; payment, all transcripts, and

two of the three evaluations must be received by CASPA by the posted deadline.

• Verified: the application must be complete, and all GPA calculations must be completed by the posted deadline.

Considerations for Setting Deadlines Several factors for consideration when selecting an application deadline may include:

• Time required for applicants to complete program-specific or secondary application materials.

• Time required at the program to process completed application materials. • Time required for the application review process to be completed by the

program. • The timeline the program needs to complete interviews and make admissions

decisions. • The length of time applicants need from receipt of their admission decision to

their start date. • Time required for receipt of additional verification materials the program

might require once an applicant has been accepted and may need prior to matriculation.

Considerations for Setting Deadline Requirements The listed deadline requirements may not include all materials that you require to consider any application. Please be specific when defining the requirements by your posted deadline. Several other items should be considered when setting your deadline requirement.

• Three evaluations (not just two which is required for verification) • Official GRE scores • Other documents or materials defined by your program (i.e. shadowing forms)

Application Open Date The 2019-2020 application cycle will launch on April 25, 2019. Participating programs are encouraged to open their application on this date, however, individual programs may choose to delay the open of their application for any reason. Programs can indicate an open date on the CASPA On-Board or Renewal survey sent to each program every fall.

19

Deadline Extensions Programs may request an extension to their deadline. This request must be submitted to caspa@PAEAonline.org with the new application deadline date. Application deadline dates will not be closed early. Deadline Extensions for Individual Applicants Programs may request an extension for individual applicants if the applicant in question is currently displayed as ‘In-Progress’ for the program on WebAdMIT. If the applicant is not in this status, a deadline extension cannot be granted, nor can an extension be granted if a program’s deadline has already passed. This request must be submitted to Jessica Scholz with the applicant name and CASPA ID#. The extension will be granted for 48 hours and the program must notify the applicant once the extension has been granted. CASPA will not accept extension requests directly from applicants. Eligibility CASPA does not determine any applicant’s eligibility to apply to any program. It is the applicant’s responsibility to know the prerequisite requirements of the program(s) they are applying to and apply to those programs with minimum requirements that they meet or exceed. CASPA will accept all application payments regardless if an applicant meets requirements or not. Refunds are not granted to applicants by CASPA under any circumstance.

9. THE APPLICATION PROCESS Re-Applicants All applicants who applied or created an application in the 2015-2016 cycle and beyond will have the option to carry over most of the data on their application in this and future cycles. Certain information will be carried over; some information will require approval by the applicant to be carried over with no changes, and some information will not be carried over. Items Carried Over CASPA will pull most application data forward, including:

• All demographic information • Colleges and universities attended • U.S. courses previously verified by CASPA and the transcripts that correspond

with these courses • Experiences and achievements entered • Essay

Before applicants can carry some of this information over, they will be required to review it to make sure it is up to date.

20

Items Not Carried Over CASPA will not carry evaluations into new cycles. Applicants must request and receive new evaluation letters in every CASPA cycle. Application Accounts New and returning applicants will visit the CASPA application portal to create an account or login to their existing application.

Below is a snapshot of the application homepage.

Application Dashboard There are four main sections of the CASPA application, including:

1. Personal information 2. Academic history 3. Supporting information 4. Program materials

Below is a snapshot of the application dashboard homepage.

21

Applicants can also access their profile and help center, add and remove programs and submit their application, check the status of application documents, and see their notification all from their dashboard. Applicants must select at least one program to access their application dashboard. Application Sections The application is divided into four sections with progress bars to guide the applicant through the process. Once information in a section is saved, the applicant will automatically be directed to the next section. Personal Information Section The Personal Information section questions collect basic data on the applicant’s biographic, contact, citizenship, race & ethnicity, other and family information background. Questions are included below.

Below is a snapshot of the overall personal information section tabs.

22

Release Statement Applicants must sign off on a CASPA Release Statement and the CASPA Professional Code of Conduct to submit their application. They must also indicate whether they release their application data to their health profession advisor.

Note- Even though it is not pictured the release statement has moved to the personal information quadrant

Biographic Information Questions

• Name (first, middle, last, suffix) • Alternate name (first, middle, last, preferred nick name) • Gender (male, female) • Birth information (date, country, city, state, county)

Contact Information Questions

• Current address (street, city, country, state, zip, valid dates) • Permanent address (same) • Phone • Email

Citizenship Information Questions (some questions optional)

• Citizenship details (citizenship status, country, dual) • Residency information (legal state of residence, legal country, time) • Visa information (number, type, issued by, issued city, country, valid dates,

sponsor) Race & Ethnicity Questions (optional)

• Ethnicity (Hispanic/Latino origin) • Race (American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American,

Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, or White)

23

Other Information Questions (some questions optional)

• Language proficiency (native language, additional languages & proficiency) • Military status • Misdemeanor and felony information (if yes, description, charge, dates,

consequence, reflection) • Felony (if yes, description, charge, dates, consequence, reflection) • Academic infractions (if yes, description, charge, dates, consequence,

reflection) • License infractions (if yes, description, charge, dates, consequence, reflection) • Environmentally Disadvantaged (HRSA questions) • Additional questions (first heard of profession, influential factor in applying,

ever matriculated or attended a PA program, medical school including foreign or any other health profession including but not limited to DO, Dentistry, Physical Therapy, Chiropractic, Podiatry, etc.)

Environmental Factors

• Childhood Residency Questions (In what country/state/county/city did you spend the majority of your life from birth to age eighteen; What is the type of geographic area where you were raised; Description of childhood residency; Do you feel that the area where you grew up was medically underserved?)

• Family Situation Questions (US Applicants only) (Have you or members of your immediate family ever used federal or state assistance programs; What was the income level of your family during the majority of your life from birth to age eighteen; Did you have paid employment prior to age eighteen; Were you able to contribute to the overall family income?)

Academic History Section The Academic History section collects data on high school and colleges attended, allows the applicant to enter their transcripted coursework, and self-report their standardized test scores. Questions are included below.

Below is a snapshot of the overall academic history section tabs.

24

High School Attended

• High School Attended (name) • City • State • Graduation Status and Date

Colleges Attended Applicants are required to enter all colleges and universities attended on the CASPA application. The data collected on each is below. Applicants will enter this information for each college/university they attended, and will have the option to list multiple degrees.

• College or university name • Degree information

o Degree Earned (yes, no, in-progress) o Degree Type o Degree Earned Date o Major o Minor (if applicable) o Term Type o First Term Date o Last Term Date

Transcript Entry Applicants are required to enter all coursework taken at all colleges/universities listed in the Colleges Attended section. The data collected is below. A CAS grade will be automatically calculated once this information is entered. The CAS grade is used to calculate GPAs upon verification.

• Course Name • Course Title • Subject

25

• Credits • Grade

Applicants request official transcripts to be sent directly to CASPA from the registrar’s office at each college or university they attended. If transcripts are received before the CASPA application has been submitted and the ‘Colleges Attended’ section is complete, the date the transcript arrived is available online to the applicant on their status menu. Transcripts must be sent to: CASPA PO Box 9108 Watertown, MA 02471 *Applicants must ship required application materials via regular mail to the CASPA PO Box address above. Applicants requiring express delivery services must use the street address provided directly by CASPA customer service. CASPA will accept transcripts received after the institutional deadline and process the application if the application was submitted by the published deadline and if all transcripts, two evaluations, and the correct CASPA fee are received by the close of the application cycle in March. Programs can access the date each transcript was received by CASPA and determine whether the applicant has met the program-specific transcript deadline date and is eligible for admission. CASPA does not determine that eligibility.

U.S. and Canadian Transcripts Applicants must arrange for CASPA to receive official transcripts directly from every U.S. and English-speaking Canadian post-secondary institution attended. CASPA will consider all application files ‘Incomplete’ until all U.S. and Canadian transcripts are received. The service will verify the authenticity of transcripts received. Academic Update CASPA applicants can update ‘planned’ or ‘in-progress’ coursework on their application after verification through a process called Academic Update. This allows them to change coursework to ‘complete’ and self-report the grades received for these courses. This coursework is not verified, nor will it be calculated into CASPA GPAs. CASPA will post updated transcripts if received, however these are not required or monitored by CASPA. CASPA directs applicants to refer to their PA program’s preferences regarding if updated transcripts are required and if they should be sent to CASPA or the program directly. Be sure your admissions requirements reflect your expectations for receipt of any updated transcripts.

26

*Applicants will not have access to edit coursework that was previously verified. Only coursework previously listed as in-progress or future planned courses will be allowed to be edited.

Transcripts for Professional Coursework CASPA defines professional coursework as coursework taken during military service outside of a regionally accredited institution (i.e. Community College of the Air Force, West Point), and coursework taken at a hospital or medical center. Professional coursework is not allowed to be reported in the Colleges Attended or Coursework sections of the application, nor is it calculated as part of an applicant’s GPA. Programs wishing to collect documentation for this type of work should turn on the “Clinical/Professional” and “Military Papers” document upload options when configuring their program-level requirements on the CAS Configuration Portal. Applicants are instructed to upload hospital and military transcripts directly to their programs using these tools if the programs choose to make them available. *Note that all work taken at a college or a school, even if it may be of the technical/professional variety, for which letter grades and semester/quarter hour credits are received, will be included in CASPA GPA calculations.

Transcripts for Applicants Offered Admission CASPA will provide PDF copies of each official transcript for review in the WebAdMIT admissions portal. If you require official transcripts to be submitted directly to your program by applicants prior to matriculation, be sure your requirements reflect your expectations for copies of official paper transcripts to be submitted directly by the applicant. Foreign Transcripts International transcripts (exceptions: English-speaking Canadian and U.S. regionally accredited overseas institutions) are not accepted by CASPA. Applicants attending a foreign institution must list their school in the Colleges Attended section but are barred from listing their individual courses in the coursework section. This work is not verified, and no GPA will be calculated for foreign transcripts. CASPA will accept evaluation reports provided by U.S. foreign transcript evaluation companies but these are not required by CASPA in order for an applicant to become verified. These evaluations will be posted to an applicant’s application and visible to programs in PDF form via WebAdMIT.

Foreign Transcript Evaluation Reports Be sure your admissions requirements reflect your expectations for course-by-course foreign transcript evaluation reports, whether you expect them to be sent to CASPA or directly to your program, and which company (if any) you prefer applicants to use. Also specify if applicants are required to provide these and by which date as they are

27

not a required part of the CASPA application. Please note that French-speaking Canadian institutions are considered foreign. Below are the four most commonly used evaluation services by CASPA applicants. CASPA does not endorse any evaluation service, however, a back-end integration is available with WES, meaning applicants can opt to have their official evaluations sent electronically to CASPA by WES. CASPA will still accept WES evals in paper format. Since some programs may require specific services to be used, applicants should check with programs before choosing an evaluation service.

World Education

Services, Inc. PO Box 5087 New York, NY 10274-5087

P: 212.966.6311 F: 212.739.6100

www.wes.org

Educational Credential

Evaluators, Inc. PO Box 514070 Milwaukee, WI

53204-3470 P: 414.289.3400 F: 414.289.3411

www.ece.org

International Education Research

Foundation, Inc. PO Box 3665

Culver City, CA 90231-3665

P: 310.258.9451 F: 310.342.7086

www.ierf.org

Josef Silny & Associates, Inc.

7101 SW 102 Avenue

Miami, FL 33173 P: 305.273.1616 F: 305.273.1338 www.jsilny.com

Course Subjects PAEA provides a course subject list to help CASPA verifiers categorize transcript coursework. Access the 2019-2020 Course Subject List for review. Standardized Exams Applicants may choose to self-report any GRE, TOEFL, or MCAT scores in this section. They may enter multiple scores for each test. This section contains self-reported scores only, NOT official test scores. The data collected for exams is below.

• Test taken (yes, no) • Date planned, or date taken • Scores

GRE CASPA provides the ability for official GRE scores to be sent directly to CASPA by ETS at the applicant’s request. Doing so allows official GRE scores to be viewed via WebAdMIT. To review official applicant GRE scores via WebAdMIT, you must request a CASPA GRE code. The enrollment form is linked below, must be completed, and emailed to cas@ets.org or fax to 973.735.0392 for processing. PAEA and you will be notified once the code has been assigned. This code is specific only to an individual PA program and is not shared with their institution.

28

Once assigned, applicants will select your CASPA program code through ETS, which will allow their official scores to be sent to their application for your program. The score that is uploaded into CASPA is official and comes directly from ETS. If you do not accept official scores through CASPA, be sure your admissions requirements reflect your expectations for official score reports.

• Program GRE FAQ • Applicant GRE FAQ • Enrollment Form

TOEFL Official TOEFL score reports are accepted by ETS and uploaded directly into the CASPA application for your review in the WebAdMIT admissions portal. MCAT MCAT scores can be sent to CASPA electronically and attached to the CASPA application. Be sure your admissions requirements reflect your expectations for MCAT exams. Supporting Information Section The Supporting Information section collects data on the applicant’s experiences/achievements/certifications and also collects three evaluations (formerly named letters of reference) and the essay (formerly named the narrative).

Below is a snapshot of the overall supporting information section tabs.

29

Evaluations Most programs require three evaluations, but CASPA will accept up to five and considers an application complete once two evaluations have been received. Programs will be able to view and access additional evaluations and rubrics in WebAdMIT once they are received by CASPA, even after a passed deadline.

• First Name • Last Name • Email • Letter Due Date • Personal Message to Evaluator • Waiver of Evaluation • Permission to Contact Reference (for CASPA) • Permission for Schools to Contact Reference

Evaluation Process Once the evaluator’s data has been entered and saved, the evaluation request is sent via email to the author with instructions on how to complete the request, along with a rubric. The author will then receive an email with instructions on how to upload their letter and complete the rubric from the CASPA Messenger. Reference email notifications are sent immediately after the applicant saves the reference information into the system. The author will upload the letter, complete the rubric, and submit the information. Once this is done, your program can view this information in WebAdMIT. Experiences/Achievements Applicants may enter multiple entries in each listed category. This allows applicants to enter relevant employment, health care, shadowing, volunteer, research, awards and license/certifications, extracurricular activities, teaching, publications, and membership data on their application.

• Experience Type (What type of experience do you want to add?) • Organization (name, address, country, state) • Supervisor (name title, contact phone, contact email) • Experience Dates (start date, current experience, end date, status)

Experience Details (title, type of recognition, average weekly hours, number of weeks, total hours, description/ key responsibilities, release authorization) Achievements

• Type • Name (name of presenting organization, issued date, brief description)

30

Licenses and Certifications • Type • Title • Organization Name

Applicants may enter multiple entries in each listed category. This allows applicants to enter relevant employment, health care, shadowing, volunteer, research, awards, and license/certifications data on their application. Essay Applicants must complete an essay to submit their application. The essay question allows them 5,000 characters to explain ‘why they are interested in being a physician assistant.’ Memberships

• Membership type Program Materials The program materials section allows programs to customize the application for their applicants with custom questions, documents and prerequisites matching. Every program will be required to complete a ‘branding page’, shown below. This page can host a program photo and information, along with a program description. The program details section is automatically populated with data CASPA receives from each program.

Below is a snapshot of the program’s branding page.

31

Custom Questions Programs may elect to use custom questions. These questions can be required or optional, drop down, either/or, multi-option, short answer or narrative questions. Any question that is required must be completed by applicants to submit the application to your program. If you have a supplemental application, this may be a good place to consider adding those questions so you have this data in WebAdMIT with the entire application profile. This section can include questions that you require from your applicants, such as supplemental questions or additional essays. The information entered here will be viewable in your WebAdMIT portal and viewable only to your program. As a developing program, you will be required to post the following information:

1. Definition of a developing program: PROGRAM has applied for Accreditation – Provisional from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). The program at PROGRAM NAME anticipates matriculating its first class in MONTH YEAR, pending achieving Accreditation-Provisional status at the MONTH YEAR ARC-PA meeting. Accreditation – Provisional is an accreditation status granted when the plans and resource allocation, if fully implemented as planned, of a proposed program that has not yet enrolled students appear to demonstrate the program’s ability to meet the ARC-PA Standards or when a program holding Accreditation – Provisional status appears to demonstrate continued progress in complying with the Standards as is prepares for the graduation of the first class (cohort) of students.

32

2. Question: I understand I am applying to a developing program, defined above, which may or may not receive provisional accreditation.

3. Question: I understand that if the program does not receive provisional accreditation, CASPA will not refund my application fee and I have reviewed and understand the refund policies of this program.

Sample questions may include:

1. Have you previously applied to a program at this university? 2. Have you previously attended a program at this university? 3. Please explain your interest in our PA program related to our program’s

mission. 4. What personal characteristics and skills make you well suited for our program? 5. Address any academic deficiencies on your application. Discuss your ability to

be successful despite these deficiencies. Documents Programs may elect to request or require additional documents from their applicants. There are four pre-populated documents that programs may require and one ‘other’ option. Documents are accepted in .doc, .docx, .rtf, .pdf, and .txt formats with a size limit of 5MB.

• Clinical/Professional • Course catalog descriptions • CV/Resume • License • Military papers • Other (defined by program) • Personal statement • Publication • Shadowing/health care hours • Writing sample

If you use this section, you must choose if each document is required or optional. If you wish a document to be required, know that ALL applicants MUST upload it to submit their application to their program. It would not be advised to require military papers, as all applicants cannot provide those, but all applicants would be able to submit a CV. Prerequisites Programs may elect to turn on prerequisites. If this section is turned on, it is required, and applicants must complete it to submit their application to your program. You will list your prerequisite courses and applicants will match the best-fit courses from their

33

transcript entry section to your listed prerequisites. It is important to note that this information is not verified by CASPA and you will still be able to determine whether the matched courses meet your prerequisite requirements. This section serves as more of a checkpoint for applicants to make sure they meet a program’s requirements for submitting the application. CASPA will not verify or deny any application to any program based on the prerequisites entered in this section. *Applicants may select listed in-progress courses, multiple courses to fulfill one prerequisite course, as well as a default ‘I do not have a course to fulfill this prereq’ option to complete this section.

10. Background Checks Your program has the option to run background checks directly through your WebAdMIT admissions portal. Liaison, International and PAEA have partnered with CastleBranch to provide this service, which offers programs the ability to customize background check needs and manually place a background check order via the WebAdMIT admissions portal for selected applicants at the program’s chosen time during the cycle.

Once an order is placed, the applicant will receive an email with instructions to complete the background check request. WebAdMIT will offer several status updates throughout this process, and once complete, you will receive a final notification, where you then link directly to your CastleBranch profile to view the results of all completed background checks.

Because background check packages are customizable, pricing will vary depending on the need of each program. If you express interest, your contact information will be shared with the CastleBranch team and they will contact you to discuss your needs. Applicants will be required to pay for each background check that they choose to execute. Programs will also have the option to pay for background checks on behalf of the applicants and CastleBranch will invoice programs that choose to do this monthly.

Contact caspa@PAEAOnline.org or CastleBranch at 888.666.7788 to begin the enrollment process.

11. Fees

The application fee is $179 for the first designation and $55 for each additional designation. Once an applicant submits their application and payment has been processed, no refunds are granted. If there are outstanding application fees, they must be paid, along with current fees, before an application will be processed in a subsequent cycle.

34

Payments are accepted via credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover) or PayPal once the application is submitted. Personal checks or money orders are not accepted. Once the processing of a payment begins, refunds will not be considered. Fee Waivers A limited number of fee waivers are available to applicants. The fee waiver covers the fee of the first designation ($179). The applicant is responsible for fees for additional program designations beyond the amount of the first designation ($55 each). Applicants should apply for fee waiver eligibility as early as possible. Because funds are limited, meeting eligibility criteria does not guarantee that a fee waiver will be granted. Applicants should contact customer service to inquire about availability. To be considered for a CASPA fee waiver, the applicant must first create a CASPA application account and submit a request and a copy of the most recent federal income tax returns to:

CASPA Fee Waiver Division

PO Box 9108 Watertown, MA 02471

An informal guide to eligibility is an annual income that falls within the U.S. Bureau of the Census low-income range for the size of the family. The low-income level, which is based on the HHS 2019 Poverty Guidelines, is used to determine what constitutes a low-income family. If the applicant is still claimed as a dependent, CASPA requires the legal guardian’s most recent federal income tax return. The applicant should not submit their CASPA application until they have been notified of approval to receive a CASPA fee waiver, usually within 72 hours of application. If the applicant submits their application prior to notification, the fee waiver application will be automatically denied. Once a fee waiver is granted, the applicant should submit the application and pay via credit card. Once the applicant has been approved for a CASPA fee waiver, they will have 14 days to submit their application. If the applicant does not submit their application within the 14 days, the fee waiver will be automatically voided, and the applicant will not be able to reapply for a waiver in that cycle.

12. The Verification Process

35

‘Verified’ is the terminal status of an application. The application is added to the verification ‘queue’ once an application becomes ‘complete’. During verification, CASPA conducts a course-by-course evaluation of the academic record and calculates numerous GPAs. Due to the variety of grade scales across the country, CASPA utilizes a universal grade value (i.e. B+ = 3.3). This may cause a discrepancy between GPAs found on institution transcripts and those reported by CASPA. CASPA does not allow professional coursework to be reported on the colleges attended or coursework sections of the application, nor does it accept official transcripts for this work. Professional coursework transcripts may instead be collected through a program’s configuration portal using the ‘documents’ section. Professional coursework is defined as the following:

• Military coursework taken outside of a regionally accredited military institution (i.e. Community College of the Air Force, West Point) Military transcripts can be collected by turning on the “Military Papers” document on configuration.

• All coursework taken at a hospital or medical center. Hospital transcripts can be collected by turning on the “Clinical/Professional” document on configuration.

*All documents uploaded by applicants in the ‘documents’ section for each individual program are not verified as authentic by CASPA. The application is available to the program in WebAdMIT from the time an application is submitted, and the fee has been paid. Once the academic record is verified, the entire application and document is available to each program in the WebAdMIT admissions portal for review. Programs are responsible for the final evaluation of the application and all materials. Verification Verification refers to the matching of courses on the official transcripts with completed courses listed on the ‘Transcript Entry’ section of the application. CASPA performs course-by-course verification once the application is considered ‘complete’ and processes based on the order received per the date the application becomes complete. The CASPA verification staff ensures that applicant-reported coursework matches the course history on the corresponding U.S. transcript. CASPA does not verify foreign courses or transcripts, professional coursework, or planned/in-progress coursework. The verification process may take up to four weeks from an applicant’s complete date and applicants are encouraged throughout the process to submit their application and ensure its completion at least four weeks in advance of the earliest program’s deadline they are applying to.

36

No Transcript Available CASPA does not waive transcript requirements due to an applicant’s financial obligations to a college or university. Applicants who are unable to obtain an official transcript from a college or university due to a financial or other school-imposed hold cannot apply until their situation has been settled with their individual school. Transcripts which are unavailable due to extenuating circumstances such as school closings or transcript loss by the responsible institution must submit a signed letter of explanation on official letterhead from the appropriate institution or state department of education stating that transcripts or records do not exist for the applicant. This must be submitted directly to CASPA customer service and CASPA will evaluate these letters on a case-by-case basis.

Course-by-Course Transcript Verification The verification staff checks that the applicant properly entered all coursework on every transcript, including:

• Institution • Course title, course prefix and number (i.e. CHEM 101) • Term • Year • Course subject • Grade: CASPA will not edit this field. If the applicant made an error on

number of credits, CASPA will make the correction in the ‘Verified Grade” field.

• Credits: CASPA will not edit this field. If the applicant made an error on number of credits, CASPA will make the correction in the ‘Verified Credits” field. Note: if the applicant failed or repeated a course, CASPA will enter the credits attempted in the credits field, even if the course was repeated later for a higher grade. Credits are only excluded if the credits attempted, not earned, on the transcript or the application are shown as blank, or zero (0).

• Term type

Reporting to Applicants and Programs • CASPA Verified Grade – Indicates any changes to the applicant-reported

grade. If staff makes no changes to the applicant’s original grade, this field is blank.

• CASPA Verified Credits – Indicates any changes to the applicant-reported credits. If staff makes no changes to the applicant’s original credits, this field is blank.

• CASPA (Converted) Grade – Reflects applicant’s attempt to convert a numeric grade to CASPA letter grade. If the applicant makes an error to the original grade, staff will overwrite applicant’s entry. If the error is made to the

37

converted grade, the correction will appear under CASPA Verified Grade. Liaison will attempt to create automatic conversion for as many standardized grading schemes as possible.

Discrepancies If CASPA cannot match coursework from a transcript to the application, CASPA may have received the wrong transcript or the applicant failed to enter coursework on the application. CASPA will allow the applicant to edit and resubmit their application to correct the errors. If a discrepancy is suspected, the application will be undelivered, and it is the responsibility of the applicant to make corrections and resubmit their application to CASPA. The ‘undelivered’ status is viewable by programs in WebAdMIT.

Converting Quarters to Semesters The CASPA system will automatically convert quarter hours to semester hours (quarter hour x .667) if quarters are reported on the transcript. CASPA verifiers do not manually convert hours. *The conversion of quarter hours to semester hours only occurs in the GPA section of the application. Conversion is not done on the Coursework section of the application.

Automatic Grade Conversion The CASPA central processing software automatically converts the following Applicant-Reported Grades to the CASPA (converted) Grade. CASPA Grade A A- AB B+ B B- BC C+ C C- CD D+ D D- F Transcript Grade. A+, A A- AB, BA B+ B B- BC, CB C+ C C- CD, DC D+ D D- E, F, WF

Converting Numeric Grades For U.S. institutions using a numeric grading system, CASPA uses the following scale to convert numeric grades on a transcript to equivalent CASPA grades. For Canadian institutions using a numeric grading system, CASPA uses the scale on the back of the individual institution’s transcript. CASPA Weight 4 3.7 3.5 3.3 3 2.7 2.5 2.3 2 1.7 1.5 1.3 1 0.7 0 CASPA Grade A A- AB B+ B B- BC C+ C C- CD D+ D D- F

Grade on Transcript CASPA Letter Grade 90-100 A

38

80-89 B 70-79 C 60-69 D 59-0 F

Transcript Verification Most U.S. colleges and universities evaluate students’ work with a numeric (i.e. 4.0) or alpha grade (i.e. B+). The general grading system is obvious from a glance by reviewing the transcript. Some programs evaluate students with a “narrative” – sentences or paragraphs discussing the student’s work. Narrative evaluations cannot be converted numerically, and the applicant’s GPA will read as 0.00 for narrative transcripts. Degree Verification CASPA verifies U.S. degrees reported as awarded in the ‘Colleges’ section of the application and may also appear on the applicant’s official transcripts for bachelor’s degrees and above. CASPA does not verify the major/minor title of any degree, nor do they verify associate degrees, foreign degrees, certificates or diplomas, expected degrees, or degrees granted from professional schools, courses, or transcripts. CASPA reserves the right to make edits to the application degree fields to correct minor typographical errors; however, it is ultimately the applicant’s responsibility to properly enter all degrees on the CASPA application. Failure to properly enter degrees may delay an application in processing. CASPA participating programs should not automatically interpret a lack of degree verification in the CASPA-reported degree field to mean that the applicant entered falsified information. Registrars may not report a degree as awarded on a transcript until several weeks after the degree is earned or until the end of the academic year. Programs should contact the applicant or registrar directly if they have questions about the status of a degree. Grade Point Averages CASPA will calculate numerous grade point averages (GPAs). The GPA and hours will be summarized by academic year within:

• Undergraduate (freshman through senior year) • Post-baccalaureate • Graduate (includes doctoral work)

There is no ‘doctoral’ category for coursework. Instead, any work taken at a master’s or doctoral degree level will be labeled as ‘Graduate’ and will factor into a ‘Graduate’ GPA. ‘Graduate’ courses will also factor into the overall science, overall non-science, overall total GPA, and into each of the course subject GPAs. A separate doctoral GPA

39

will not be calculated. Professional and foreign coursework is excluded from the Overall GPA calculation. Cumulative Undergraduate CASPA will calculate cumulative undergraduate GPA that includes all undergraduate and post-baccalaureate courses taken, both science and non-science. Overall GPA CASPA will calculate an overall GPA that includes all undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, and graduate courses taken, both science and non-science.

Non-Science GPA The non-science GPA includes all courses with subject codes of math, English, behavioral science, and other non-science.

Science GPA The Science GPA includes all courses with subject codes of Biology/Zoology, Chemistry (Inorganic, Organic, and Biochemistry), Physics, and other science.

BCP GPA The BCP GPA includes all courses taken in the categories of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. This will exclude Other Science to reflect a more accurate GPA for prerequisite courses at a glance.

GPA Calculations CASPA calculates a standardized GPA to help participating PA programs evaluate applicants using uniform and consistent criteria. The CASPA GPAs are automatically generated by the system and are likely to be different from those calculated by the colleges and universities attended due to the CASPA grade standardization process. In this process, the CASPA Grade is assigned a numeric value to calculate the CASPA GPA. Participating programs may choose to use the CASPA GPAs or re-calculate GPAS for their own use.

GPA System Rules The CASPA central database automatically performs the following steps when calculating CASPA GPAs. CASPA verifiers do not manually perform these steps.

• Multiply the grade value of the course by the semester hours for that course. The product of this multiplication will be the quality points.

• Divide the cumulative quality points by the cumulative attempted hours. Example:

Course Transcript Grade

Transcript Credits Attempted

CASPA (Converted) Letter Grade

Calculation Quality Points

40

MATH 1100

4.0 3 A = 4 X 3 12

ENGL 1310

3.0 3 B = 3 X 3 9

GEOL 1610

2.0 4 C = 2 X 4 8

PHED 1000

1.0 3 D = 1 X 3 3

PSCI 1040

0.0 3 F = 0 X 3 0

TOTAL

16

32 GPA Calculation → 32 (quality points) ÷ by 16 (credit hours attempted) = 2.00 (GPA)

Repeated Coursework Applicants are instructed to enter all course grades and hours for courses taken even if they repeated the course for grade improvement. Applicants will be instructed to indicate repeated coursework by identifying these courses as repeated under course type. Applicants must enter coursework as shown on transcripts. CASPA will calculate GPAs based on credits reported on official transcripts. CASPA does not recognize freshmen forgiveness or academic renewal and, if a course grade and credit is listed on a transcript, it must be reported on the application.

14. WebAdMIT Admissions Portal The WebAdMIT for CASPA admissions portal provides online services for participating PA programs. Admissions officers at PA programs as well as others designated at the programs have a secure site through which to help manage the applicants who have designated their PA program. Through this portal, programs can access detailed applicant status information and view applicant information prior to and after mailings, including:

• Aggregate number of applications for program (at least applications received) • Search tools: ability to search for an applicant by last name, submit date, or

CASPA ID#

Application Status Definitions The WebAdMIT admissions portal will sort the applications into different categories of applicant status. Below is a list of the categories and a brief explanation of each:

• In Progress: applicants who have selected your program, but who have not yet finished and e-submitted their applications. Basic applicant contact information is available to programs while applicants are in this category. A number appears on the WebAdMIT that indicates how many applicants are currently in this category.

• Received: applicants who have submitted their application but are missing transcripts and/or evaluations.

41

• Complete: applicants who have all their transcripts and at least two evaluations but have not had their transcripts verified. Once the transcripts are verified, the applications will be put into the next category.

• Verified: applicants who have been completed and CASPA staff has verified their applications. This is the terminal applicant status.

• On Hold: applicants who have been put on hold due to discrepancies found within the application. These discrepancies could include coursework errors, transcript problems or errors, bad payments, etc. Programs will have a limited view of applicants in this category.

• Undelivered: if an applicant has made five or more mistakes entering coursework, CASPA will un-deliver the application back to the applicant to make corrections. Programs will have a full view of applicants in this category. Reasons may include:

o Missing coursework o Entering all coursework under one term o Omitting course prefix or number o Failing to enter the full course title, unreported institution, etc.

The WebAdMIT admissions portal also allows programs to assign specific admissions decisions to each applicant. Programs may choose from the following list of admissions decisions:

• Declined Offer • Deferred • Denied • Interview • Matriculated (this status is required to be reported by CASPA) • Offer Accepted • Offer Made • Rescinded • Wait List • Withdrew

This mechanism helps programs organize their applicants through the WebAdMIT admissions portal and to report their matriculated students to CASPA at the end of the admissions process. Details Available for Verified Applicants CASPA programs can view the full web application record for every applicant who submits to their program. This information includes:

• All questions on web application except data on designated PA programs and passwords

• Application submit date • List of colleges attended

42

• Date each transcript, reference, and official test score was received by CASPA, • CASPA GPAs • Application complete date • Application verification date

Data Exports WebAdMIT has an export manager that allows users to create their own reports containing the exact applicants and data fields they wish to see. This can be useful in creating files to import into an ERP or University System (such as Banner, PeopleSoft, or Datatel). Some of the features of the Export Manager are:

• A Field chooser that allows users to select which fields they want to export • Several configuration options, including export file type (.csv, xls, or .txt) • The ability to drag and drop selected fields to arrange them in the desired

order • The ability to select which list of applicants that will be exported • The ability to save export settings for later use

Access the Data Dictionary & Custom Export Layout. This document may also be accessed in the resource center in your WebAdMIT admissions portal.

15. REPORTS AND SURVEYS CASPA Renewal and On-Board Survey In the fall, PAEA will send out the CASPA Renewal or On-Board Survey. This survey is required to be completed by each program electing to participate in CASPA and for the WebAdMIT admissions portal to be activated. If the survey is not completed, the program’s application launch may be delayed. Questions from the annual survey may include:

• Program deadline • CASPA contacts • Confirmation of participation • Agreement to CASPA terms

Program Satisfaction Survey Following the close of each cycle, PAEA submits a request to programs to complete a short satisfaction survey to obtain information on the experience of CASPA participating programs. PA programs are strongly encouraged to complete this survey. Questions may include:

• Rate CASPA’s service and responsiveness • Rate WebAdMIT’s service and responsiveness • Improvement considerations (optional) • Additional comments (optional)

Matriculant Data Reporting

43

As a part of your agreement to participate in CASPA, each program must submit their matriculant data for each school or campus using the WebAdMIT admissions portal for the respective application cycle. This data is required by CASPA following the close of each application cycle and should be submitted by the program once the program has initiated the school year. PAEA will send an email with instructions to all programs at the end of the month that the program starts. The deadline for completion will be within 14 days after the start of your class. Programs can customize their matriculant reports in WebAdMIT, giving programs the ability to limit the applicants in their reports to only those that have matriculated at their program compared to only those applicants that have matriculated to other CASPA participating programs. If matriculant data is not received by the given deadline, your application may be temporarily closed down until the data is received.

• Matriculant Data Entry Instructions End of Cycle Reports Programs will have access to comparative reports in WebAdMIT. These reports are available at any time throughout the cycle, but it is best to run them at the close of every cycle. These reports allow a program to compare demographic and academic performance information for applicants to their program to the entire CASPA applicant pool. Application Changes & Updates Applicants are only able to make changes to contact information on their application throughout the cycle. Applicants may add new colleges, coursework, experiences, achievements, and awards to their application after submission. They may not edit or update any occurrences that were added prior to submitting their application. For all other sections, applicants are instructed to forward any changes or updates to directly to their designated programs after they submit their application. Admissions Decisions Participating programs should report admissions decision in a timely manner to applicants throughout the application cycle. CASPA is not responsible for reporting admissions decisions for any program and all inquiries by applicants will be directed to the program(s).

Supplemental Application Some CASPA programs find there is relevant information not captured by the CASPA application and may choose to require a supplemental application. You may also

44

consider adding supplemental questions to the custom question section of the application, or collect supplemental applications through the custom documents section of the application. If you choose to manage your supplemental separate from CASPA, be sure that your supplemental application instructions and process are included on your website. Your supplemental link information may also be included on your CASPA branding page in the new configuration portal.